Embodiments herein generally relate to variable information print programs, and more particularly, concern an automated variable information regression testing method, system, and computer program product.
A single variable information job, such as utilized in transactional and personalized marketing printing environments, is akin to a computer program, in that it contains commands to combine one or more input file specifications with one or more design specifications to produce the final output. Over the course of time, requests to edit this job, or program, become necessary in order to handle changes—input file specifications, design element changes, and so forth. A common method of regression testing such changes—insuring that such changes do not affect areas of the program that should remain the same—is to create a series of outputs from a sample set of data both before and after the edits, and manually or automatically visually compare these two sets of output for any visual differences. As the number of samples, the number of design specifications, or the number of sample data instances (or any combination thereof) increases, the number of visual comparisons necessary also increases, and the size and complexity of the task can grow to such unmanageable proportions that change requests may linger unfulfilled because the cost to perform the testing exceeds the cost saved by the change.
Variable information (VI) sites can have hundreds of active VI programs (jobs) in place. Many of these programs utilize multiple input formats. For example, it would not be uncommon to discover that a simple monthly billing program receives input data from 5 or more data formats in a single run—commercial accounts, personal accounts, special treatment accounts, subsidiary company accounts, and so on. When a change is necessary, perhaps one of the many input formats requires an additional field in order to accommodate a new item on the output page—there is a requirement that nothing else in the job be affected by this change.
Variable information printing, and transactional printing in particular, is a field where the only acceptable level of defects is zero. Even one defect in a financial transaction can result in significant penalties. As such, significant efforts are required to insure that any changes to an existing process are fully tested, and no change occurs outside of the intended area.